Goa Affairs
State asked to demarcate bird habitats in coastal plan
Making a case for formulation of a bird habitat management plan for the state, three senior birders from Goa have jointly stated in their written submission on the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) that as several bird habitats havent been identified in the maps, the areas must be identified, protected and managed to ensure the persistence of the bird species and their populations.
Pointing out that only one bird nesting area, Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary at Charao, is marked along the entire coastline of Goa, they said that though this is an important area for birds, as highlighted by its protected status, there are many other parts of Goas coastline that require identification.
It is extremely important that a management plan specific to bird habitats for nesting, foraging, roosting and wintering is drafted and implemented. These areas also have a huge potential for well managed eco-tourism zones, Pronoy Baidya, Farai Patel and Omkar Dharwadkar said in their written submissions.
National and International Affairs
INS Tabar Exercises was Held
The INS Tabar exercise was held with the Italian Navy near Naples, Italy, as part of a continuous deployment to the Mediterranean
Highlights:
The exercise covered a broad range of naval operations, such as air DEFENCE procedures and Communication drills.
The exercise benefited both parties by improving interoperability and consolidating combined operations against maritime threats.
Major Indian Maritime Exercises:
SLINEX – Sri Lanka
Bongosagar and IN-BN CORPAT Bangladesh
JIMEX – Japan
Naseem-Al-Bahr – Oman
Indra – Russia
Zair-Al-Bahr – Qatar
Samudra Shakti – Indonesia
Indo-Thai CORPAT – Thailand
IMCOR – Malaysia
SIMBEX – Singapore
AUSINDEX – Australia
Malabar Exercise – Japan, and the USA
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund – Central Sector Scheme
has approved changes to the Central Sector Scheme of financing facility under the <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture Infrastructure Fund’.
Highlights:
State Agencies/APMCs, National and State Federations of Cooperatives, Federations of Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs), and Federations of Self-Help Groups are now eligible (SHGs).
Currently, the scheme allows for interest subventions on loans of up to Rs. 2 crore in a single location.
If an eligible entity other than a private sector entity (i.e., state agencies, national and state federations of cooperatives, federations of FPOs, and federations of SHGs) establishes projects in multiple locations, all such projects will now be eligible for interest subsidies of up to Rs. 2 crore.
However, a private sector entity will be limited to a maximum of 25 such projects.
For APMCs, an interest subvention of up to Rs. 2 crore will be provided for each project of different infrastructure types, such as cold storage, sorting, grading, and assaying units, silos, and so on, within the same market yard.
India Industrial Land Bank IILB
The Industrial Land Bank Of India is a GIS-based portal that contains all information related to industrial , such as connectivity, infrastructure, <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/natural-Resources“>Natural Resources and topography, plot-level information about open spaces, activity lines, and contact information.
It serves as a one-stop shop for all industrial infrastructure-related data.
It acts as a decision-support system for investors scouting land remotely.
It is currently integrated with Industry-based GIS systems from 17 states, allowing details on the portal to be updated in real time.
The IILB has planned about 4,000 industrial parks on 550,000 hectares of land and is expected to achieve pan-Indian integration by December 2021.
It is administered by the Department of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue
The Financial Market Dialogue between India and the United Kingdom was conducted virtually.
Highlights: